THE CAUCUS; In Closing, Candor

By ASHLEY PARKER

Published: November 2, 2010

Lee Fisher is up with one of the most unusual - and honest - closing ads this election season.

Sitting on a front stoop and wearing jeans and a green shirt, Mr. Fisher, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Ohio, faces the camera and says: ''I'm Lee Fisher. Pay very close attention to this ad 'cause you're not going to see it too many times.''

''My campaign just doesn't have millions of dollars to run lots of ads, no scary black-and-white pictures and creepy music here,'' he continues. ''The bottom line is: I'm an Ohio guy and Portman's Mr. Washington.''

Mr. Fisher, the state's lieutenant governor, is running against Rob Portman, a former Republican congressman and senior member of the Bush administration, for the seat being vacated by Senator George V. Voinovich. The 30-second spot seeks to cast Mr. Fisher as the underdog, which he is; Mr. Portman leads by a significant margin in recent polls, and has more than $5 million cash on hand, while Mr. Fisher has just over $300,000.

And the ad ends on an equally candid note: ''I'm Lee Fisher, I approve this message and, yes, we barely paid for it, but I'm sure proud that Wall Street and the Washington lobbyists didn't,'' Mr. Fisher says.

Mr. Fisher also released a fresh Web video over the weekend, a spoof of the basketball sensation LeBron James's new commercial for Nike, which opens with Mr. James asking, ''What should I do?''

In the video, Mr. Fisher strides around a basketball court, talking about his dedication to Ohio and posing a similar question.

''What should I do?'' he asks. ''Should I throw in the towel because my opponent gets his money from Wall Street and the lobbyists? Should I remind you that I've worked in every corner of this state to save jobs? What should I do? Should I tell you how much I care about Ohio?''

And if there were any doubt about Mr. Fisher's commitment to his state, the tagline under the video on his campaign Web site reads: ''And unlike LeBron James and Congressman Portman, he'll always be here fighting for Ohioans.''

The best part? Mr. Fisher's (fake) ''I Ohio!'' tattoo.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.